Safety razor



' Dec. 11, 1934. E. R. WHARTON 1,984,243

SAFETY RAZOR Filed Aug. 19, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 11, 1934. l E'R. WHARTON 1,984243 A l SAFETY RAZOR Filed Aug. 19. 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented Dec. 11, 17934'y UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE 1,984,243 SAFETY RAZOR n yEdward n. Wharton, Medford, Mass. y Application August 19, 1933, Serial No. 685,938 s Claims. (cl. .a-12) My invention relates to safety razors and it guard isoextended laterally away from said pintle has for its object to provide an improved device and formed to provide an arm orA heel 20 to ycoof this kind. f Operate with the inner face of the blade 12 as To this end I have provided a safety razor presently to be described. Also, the hub of each having the peculiar features of construction and lever 17 is made near its middle with a curved 5 mode of operation set forth in the following dearm 21 disposed alongside of spindle 13 opposite soription, the several novel features of the inthe inner end of handle member 11. vention being separately pointed out and defined The opposite end portions of a coiled spring in the claims at the close thereof. '22 yieldingly urge the arms 21 outwardly away In the accompanying drawings: from each other. This spring surrounds the 10 Figure 1 is an enlarged elevation, partly brokspindle 13 between handle member 11 and guard en away and in section, of a safety razor con- 10 and its opposite end portions are formed as structed in accordance with this invention. hooks which are engaged with the inner sides l Figure 2 is abottom plan view of the guard of arms 21 as shown in Figure 2. Thus, when l5 of the razor shown in Figure 1-.` handle member 11 is rotated on spindle 13 and l5 Figure 3 is a side elevation of the upper poris moved axially toward or from the guard it tion of the razor shown in Figure 1 with the acts through arms 21 to effect swinging moveblade of the latter omitted.y y ments of levers 17 on their pivot pintles 18.

Figure 4 is a top plan view ofthe guard shown` The blade l2, Figs. 1, 5 and 6, is a thin flexible in Figure 2. l n f', piece of sheet steel that is slightly longer than 20 Figure 5 is a plan view of the blade of the' guard 10 and somewhat narrower, the two opyazor, posite longitudinal side marginal portions there- Figure 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Figure 3, of having sharpened parallel cutting edges adbut with the blade in position upon the guard. jacent to and parallel with each of which is a In the illustrated embodiment of my invention' longitudinal rowkof holes 23. The holes 23 of 25 10 is the guard, 11 the handle memberfof the each row are relatively spaced apart the same guard stem, and 12 the blade. as the hooks k19 of either one of the levers 17 The stem of the guard also includes, as a part and each hole is made of a size and shape to thereof, a spindle 13 that is rigidly and permapermit the passage therethrough of the head of nently connected at its one end'with the guard one of said hooks. 30 10 so that it extends perpendicularly from the When the arms 21, Fig. 1, are at the limit of middle of the back side of the latter. The optheir outward movement the hooks 19 thereof posite end portion of this spindle is threaded are positioned so as to register with the holes 23 as shown in Figure 1 to receive upon it the of the blade and the latter can be placed upon tubular interiorly threaded upper end portion the guard 10 asshown in Fig. 1, with each hook 35` of the handle member 11. of said levers extending through one of the The guard 10 is of oblong shape as viewed in holes of the blade.

plan and is formed with a pair of longitudinal After the blade is placed upon the guard as slots 14 which arerelatively parallel and spaced shown in Fig. 1 the handle member 11 is roapart at opposite sides of the spindle 13. This tated on spindle 13 in a direction to force said 40 slotted construction provides the guard with two handle member toward guard 10. This axial longitudinal marginal side bars 15 and an intermovement of the handle member acts through mediate longitudinal median bar 16 with which the arms21 to first swing the two rows of hooks the spindleil is connected. outwardly in opposite directions thereby to cause J The slots 14 are provided for the reception the nose of each hook to overlie the outer margin- 45 therein of the elongate hubs of two levers 17, al portion of the blade immediately adjacent to said hubs being pivotally connectedy with the its hole 23, and then to swing the heels 20 of opposite end walls ofthe slots of the guard 10 the levers into engagement with the inner face by pintles 18. The hub of each lever 17'is made of the blade. Thereafter, as the inward axial upon its top side with a longitudinalrow of movement of handle member 11 is continued the 50 hooks 19 which project beyond the guard and heel portions 20 of ythe levers shove the midalso face outwardly toward the face-engaging dle portion of the blade 12 away from guard 10 sides of said guard. f v while the opposite side marginal portions there- The portion of the hub of each lever 17 beof are held against outward movement theretween its pintle 18 and the median bar 16 of the with by the hooks 19y with the result that said 55 opposite side marginal portions are swung inwardly toward the guard 10 as shown in Fig. 6. Thus, by axial adjustment of handle member 1l the cutting edges of the blade are adjusted toward and from the guard and positioned relatively thereto as desired for a close shave or for a coarse shave.

It will be clear that this adjustment of the cutting edges toward and from the guard 10 is accomplished by flexing the blade transversely as heretofore, but that in my new razor a pair of blade flexing members are provided on the guard which are operable to apply outward blade-exing pressure to the inner face of the middle zone of the blade while they hold the opposite side marginal portions of theV blade through engagement with the outer face of the latter so that the cutting edges' of said side marginal portions are moved toward and from the guard in the opposite sense to that of said middle portion or zone.

The outer sides of the side bars of the guard 10 are curved or rounded away from the cutting edges of the blade 12 and each is formed throughout its length with transverse oblique grooves 24 alternating with transverse oblique ribs 25. These oblique ribs and grooves tend to deflect the razor endwise as it is drawn sidewise over the face of the user thus inducing a shearing stroke While the razor is in motion on the face.

Just inside of the row of ribs and grooves of each side bar 15 the latter is formed upon its top side with a longitudinal channel or trough 2S which serves to catch and hold the lather that is scraped from the face by the blade.

It is an advantage to the above described construction that the blade of the razor is not materially weakened by the holes 23 and that said blade is held and adjustably flexed entirely by the guard structure thus dispensing with the usual blade clamping cap element heretofore provided to engage the cuter face of the blade.

It is also an important feature of the above described construction that the absence of the usual blade clamping cap permits the blade 12 to be laid flatwise directly against the face of the user thus avoiding the objectionable scraping action characterizing some of the razors heretofore provided.

Another feature of advantage to the above described construction is that it is unnecessary to disassemble the blade holder when installing or removing the blade as either of these operations are made possible merely by adjustment of the parts of the holder relatively.

When the levers 17 are operated to engage and flex the blade the hooks 19, through engagment with sides of the apertures, serve to adjust the blade into its proper position relatively to the holder.

Each slot 14 is bordered upon its outer side by a straight-edge or shoulder 27 which serves as a stop to limit the approach of the proximate cutting edge to the guard 10 so that it cannot seat on the side bar l5 at the outer side of the adjacent channel 26. These straightedges or shoulders 27 also co-operate with the hooks to hold the edge portions of the blade straight longitudinally and parallel with the guard.

Experience and investigation have determined the fact that in order to secure the highest degree of safety in combination with satisfactory shaving effects there is a critical relationship necessary to be established between the cutting edge of the razor and the guard and in the present instance this critical relationship exists when the marginal portions of the blade rest against the straight edges 27. The parts will normally occupy this relationship and satisfactory results will be secured in use upon faces of various types or conditions. The setting of the cutting edges at greater distances away from, and out of engagement with, the straight edges 27 will seldom be necessary and only necessary to effect an extremely close shave. In most cases the desired cutting action will be secured with the marginal portions of the blade against the straight edges 27.

What I claim is:

1. In a safety razor, the combination with a flexible blade having opposite side cutting edges and formed with apertures adjacent to said opposite side cutting edges, of a holder for said blade comprising a rigid guard provided upon its back side with Ya handle including a manually adjustable element, and blade-holding mechanism permanently and adjustably mounted on said guard and having parts thereof extending through said apertures, said mechanism being independently adjustable relatively to said guard through adjustment of said element to cause said parts to abut the outer face of said blade adjacent to the apertures thereof when said element is adjusted thereby to apply pressure to the inner face of the middle zone of said blade to flex the latter transversely away from said guard while the cutting edges of said blade are shifted relatively to said guard in the opposite direction.

2. In a safety razor, the combination with a flexible blade formed with apertures adjacent to its opposite side cutting edges, of a holder for said blade comprising a guard provided upon its back side with a handle including a manually adjustable element, and blade-holding mechanism permanently mounted on said guard comprising a pair of levers having portions thereof extending through said apertures, said levers being cooperatively associated with said element and operable thereby to rst shift said portions laterally into positions to abut the outer face of said blade adjacent to the apertures thereof and thereafter to apply pressure to the inner face of the middle zone of said blade thereby to flex the latter transversely in one direction While the cutting edges of said blade are shifted relatively to said guard in the opposite direction.

3. In a safety razor, the combination with a fiexible blade formed with apertures adjacent to its opposite side cutting edges, of a holder for said blade comprising a rigid guard provided upon its back side with a handle including a manually adjustable element, and blade-holding mechanism permanently mounted on said guard comprising a pair of levers having hooked extensions projecting through said apertures, said levers being cooperatively associated with said element and operable thereby to first shift said hooked extensions laterally into blade-holding positions opposite the outer face of said blade adjacent to the apertures thereof and thereafter to apply pressure to the inner face of the middle zone of said blade thereby to flex the latter transversely in one direction While the cutting edges of said blade are shifted relatively to said guard in the opposite direction.

4. In a safety razor, the combination with a flexible blade having oppositely disposed side cutting edges and formed with two straight longitudinal rows of apertures which are parallel with and adjacent to said edges, of a holder for said blade comprising a slotted guard provided upon its back side with a handle including a manually adjustable element, and bladeholding mechanism permanently mounted on said guard comprising a pair of levers each having an elongate hub mounted within a slot of said guard and provided withv a straight row of hooked extensions to project through the apertures of one of said rows, said levers being cooperatively associated with said element and operable thereby to first shift said hooked extensions laterally into blade-holding positions opposite the outer face of said blade adjacent to the apertures thereof and thereafter to apply pressure to the inner face of the middle zone of said blade thereby to flex the latter transversely in one direction while the cutting edges of said blade are shifted relatively to said guard in the opposite direction.

5. In a safety razor, the combination with a exible blade having oppositely disposed side cutting edges and formed with two straight longitudinal rows of apertures each of which is parallel with and adjacent to one of said edges, of a holder for said blade comprising a guard provided upon its back side with a centrally disposed perpendicular handle including a manually adjustable element, said guard being formed with two longitudinal slots, one at each side of said handle, and blade-holding mechanism permanently mounted on said guard comprising a pair of levers each having an elongate hub mounted within one of said slots and provided with a straight row of hooks projecting through the apertures of one of said rows and also provided with an arm cooperatively associated with said element, said levers being operable by said element to first shift said hooks laterally into blade-holding positions opposite the outer face of said blade adjacent to the apertures thereof and thereafter to apply pressure to the inner face of the middle zone of said blade thereby toflex the latter transversely in one direction while the side marginal portions of said blade that are outside of said apertures are shifted relatively to said guard in the opposite direction. y

6. In a safety razor, the combination with a exible blade having oppositely disposed side cutting edges and formed with two straight longitudinal rows of apertures each of which is parallel with and adjacent to one of said edges, of a holder for said blade comprising a guard provided upon its back side with a centrally disposed perpendicular handle including an axially adjustable element, said guard being formed with two longitudinal slots, one at each side of said handle; blade-holding mechanism permanently mounted on said guard comprising a vpair of levers each having an elongate hub pivotally mounted within one of said slots and provided with a straight row of hooks projecting through the apertures'of one of said rows and also provided with an arm cooperatively associated withsaid element, said levers being operable by axial adjustment of said element in one direction to first shift said hooks laterally into blade-holding position opposite the outer face of said blade adjacent to the apertures thereof and thereafter to apply pressure to the inner face of the middle zone of said blade thereby to ilex the latter transversely in one direction while the side marginal portions of said blade that are outside of said apertures are shifted relatively to said guard in the opposite direction, and spring means for reversely actuating said levers when said element is shifted axially in the opposite direction.

7. A safety razor constructed in accordance with claim 5 wherein said handle includes a threaded spindle connected at its one end with said guard between said slots and wherein said element is an interiorly threaded tubular member mounted on said threaded spindle and cooperatively associated at its one end with said levers.

8. In a safety razor, the combination with a flexible blade having oppositely disposed side cutting edges and formed with two straight longitudinal rows of spaced apart apertures each of which is parallel with and adjacent to one of said edges, of a holder for said blade comprising a guard provided upon its back side with a centrally disposed handle including a manually adjustable element, said guard being formed with two longitudinal slots, one at each side of said handle, and blade-holding mechanism perinanently mounted 'on said guard comprising a pair of levers each having an elongate hub pivotally mounted within one of said slots and provided with a straight row of hooks projecting through the apertures of one of said rows and also provided with an eccentrically disposed heel portion, said levers being cooperatively associated with said element and operable by the latter so as to first shift said hooks laterally into bladeyholding positions opposite the outer face of said blade adjacent to the apertures thereof and thereafter to force said heel portions against the inner face of the middle zone of said blade thereby to flex the latter transversely in one direction while the side marginal portions of said blade that are outside of said apertures are shifted relatively to said guard in the opposite direction.

EDWARD R. WHARTON. 

